Film Series

Living with the Dead: The Films of George A. Romero

In 1968, George A. Romero (1940—2017) ushered in a new era in both independent and horror filmmaking with his era-defining debut Night of the Living Dead, a low-budget shock to the system that fused genre and sociopolitical critique to radical effect. Over the course of four influential decades, Romero would remain fiercely committed to his blazingly personal vision, imbuing his all-American nightmares with satiric and deadly serious commentaries on issues like race, capitalism, militarism, and government mistrust. In Romero’s films, the monsters are not the other—they are mirrors to examine our own society and humanity.

Special thanks to Richard P. Rubinstein, Romero’s longtime producer and collaborator, for helping to make this series possible.

Film

Night of the Living Dead

Feb 22Feb 28, 2019

Night of the Living Dead

Feb 22Feb 28, 2019

Romero’s stunningly subversive horror milestone is more than just the mother of all zombie movies; it’s a still-shocking vision of Vietnam-era America consuming itself.

The marauding undead descend upon that hallowed American institution—the suburban shopping mall—in this savagely satiric zombie masterpiece, a brilliant and disturbing critique of late capitalist excess.

Romero’s first studio film is a provocative exploration of the eternal tension between the id and ego in which a paralyzed man develops an increasingly disturbing symbiotic relationship with his helper monkey.

The director’s follow-up to Night of the Living Dead is—surprise!—a romantic comedy steeped in the 1970s counterculture, a genre departure that’s recognizably Romero-esque in its astute social commentary.

These early rarities—including advertisements, industrial films, and documentaries Romero made while working as a commercial director in Pittsburgh—find a master filmmaker sharpening his craft on the job.

The marauding undead descend upon that hallowed American institution—the suburban shopping mall—in this savagely satiric zombie masterpiece, a brilliant and disturbing critique of late capitalist excess.